For military use, it is known to provide a helmet mount for night vision goggles. Such a helmet mount is described for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,457,179; 6,472,776; 5,506,730 and 6,992,275. U.S. Pat. No. 5,469,578 describes a similar arrangement for a head harness. According to the mounting arrangement of these patents, a single strap extends from a rear of a helmet over a top of the helmet to a top front area of the helmet where the strap connects to a night vision goggle mount. A hook mechanism connects the night vision goggle mount to a front part of the brim of the helmet. The night vision goggle mount can allow for the removal of the night vision goggles assembly or for the flipping down or up of the night vision goggles assembly for use and non use positions, respectively.
For daytime operations, protective goggles are typically worn. It is known to provide protective goggles having an encircling strap to hold the goggles onto a user's face wherein the strap encircles a helmet worn by the user. The strap, however, must encircle the helmet over and around the attachment and adjustment mechanisms of the night vision goggle assembly strap. Putting on and taking off the protective goggles can require the use of both hands, particularly to position the protective goggle strap to clear snags or obstructions between the strap of the protective goggles and hardware of the night vision goggles.
The present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing a protective goggle mounting assembly that allowed protective goggles to be easily switched from a use to a non-use position, preferably by using only one hand.
The present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing a protective goggle mounting assembly that allowed for the protective goggles to be carried in a non-use position on the helmet.
The present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing a protective goggle mounting assembly that was compatible with periodic night vision goggle usage.
The present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing a protective goggle mounting assembly that does not interfere with, ensnare or catch on night vision goggle assembly mounting mechanisms, particularly during putting on or taking off of the protective goggles. The present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing a protective goggle mounting assembly which is compatible to be worn with a night vision goggle assembly and which is easy to put on or take off the user's face.